Thinking Ahead 102: Planning Now for Fall Color & Winter Interest

Tired of looking at a dull landscape all winter? Now is the perfect time to plan how you'll change next year's vistas. Early spring months are the ideal time to plant or transplant shrubs and trees while they are still dormant. With several months of warm growing weather, they'll be ready to put on a show for you and your neighborhood, and provide additional safe havens for overwintering birds.

(This article was originally published on 3-11-2008)

Look out the windows. What shrubs, trees or ornamentals catch your eye in the yard? If you only see bare gray branches and empty flower beds, it might be time to redesign!

Fall color is easy to achieve from the wide variety of shrubs and trees available for today's gardener. The trick is to find specimens that also provide winter interest long after the colorful foliage has gone. Color is not limited to leaves; look for varieties with colorful stems, berries, or seed pods. Things to also consider for winter interest are size, color, structure, fruit or seeds, and texture; most selections will qualify for several criteria.

Depending on your zone, any of the following can provide amazing interest to a dormant landscape.

Maiden Grass(Miscanthus sinensis) - grows up to 6 feet tall, with large attractive seed-head plumes that remain through winter.

Stonecrop(Sedum spp.) - Hardy succulents are evergreen in most areas; the attractive flowers transform into dry seed-heads that remain through winter.

About Toni Leland

Toni Leland has been writing for over 20 years. As a spokesman for the Ohio State University Master Gardener program, she has written a biweekly newspaper column and is the editor of the Muskingum County MG newsletter, Connections; she currently writes for GRIT, Over the Back Fence, and Country Living magazines. She has been a gardener all her life, working soil all over the world. In her day job, she scripts and produces educational DVDs about caring for Miniature Horses, writes and edits books about them, and has published five novels.